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here to see the top 20 most sought-after villages in England and Wales
The bucolic idyll of village life is deeply embedded in the national psyche,
as much a part of our identity as afternoon tea and poor cricket results.
And, as city life becomes ever more stressful, it is an idyll more people
want to experience. New figures from Hamptons, a nationwide estate agency,
reveal that the number of Londoners chasing village homes has almost tripled
in three years, from 13.4% of all prospective buyers in 2005 to 35.7% this
month.
“Villages are increasingly popular with those moving from London, and other
towns and cities, who like the idea of country living, but would be
terrified of being on their own in the middle of open countryside,” says Rob
Bruce, research manager at Hamptons. “Village life appeals for the mix of
semi-rural living and good local facilities.”
A survey on the state of the countryside by the Commission for Rural
Communities (CRC) suggests those most in love with the idea are 30-to
45-year-olds with children, and people aged between 45 and 60 all are
chasing a dream.
“People look at whether a place represents what they consider the
quintessential English country village,” says Henry Holland Hibbert, head of
Strutt & Parker’s country division. “That’s where their imagination
comes into play.”
If this trend continues, says the CRC, the population of most rural areas in
England and Wales will grow by almost 20% in the next 20 years. So, where
are these people heading, and what makes a good village?
Exclusive research conducted for The Sunday Times by Savills, another
nationwide agency, has pinpointed the top 20 villages in England and Wales –
the most popular ones, in which buyers are looking for a primary home. And
whether it’s Weobley, in Herefordshire, or Cerne Abbas, in Dorset, they all
have plenty in common.
Most important is the outward aesthetic: what the place looks like and what
the houses are like. Guiting Power, in Gloucestershire, for example, has
gorgeous stone houses and is “possibly the best address in the Cotswolds”,
says Crispin Holborow, head of Savills’ country division.
Fingest and its neighbour, Turville, in Buckinghamshire, are also classic
English villages that make the list. “Fingest is the most idyllic spot,”
Holborow says. “It has a beautiful flint church; it’s a classic English
pastoral scene, with lovely rolling hills and woodland all around. It
definitely has aesthetic appeal.”
Both it and Turville are also easy to reach, something else the most
sought-after spots have in common. “If you’ve never been to Turville, you’ve
seen it countless times,” says Richard Gaynor, a Savills partner. “It’s a
pretty, tucked-away village that, until 50 years ago, would have been
considered totally isolated, but it’s just 5 or 10 minutes off the M40.” No
doubt one of the reasons it was used as the location for The Vicar of
Dibley.
“Accessibility and aesthetics are key,” Holborow says, “but it doesn’t have to
be pickled in aspic.” A village must be appealingly pretty, but not a
tourist hot spot, such as Broadway, in the Cots-wolds:so chocolate-box
beautiful, every second person is there to take photographs. Kintbury, in
West Berkshire, is the perfect mix: it’s pretty but practical, with a good
mix of housing, from Terence Conran’s mansion at one end to the tiniest
cottage at the other.
A really sought-after village will also be a standalone community, rather than
a satellite suburb of somewhere bigger, Gaynor says. This is often why
slightly larger places, such as St Mary Bourne, in Hampshire, are so
popular: it has a school, a recreation ground, a shop and a post office.
Access to good schools is also vital, and it is no surprise to find that, of
the 20 most desirable villages, 14 have their own school.
“In an ideal world, you want a little school,” says Rupert Sweeting, a partner
in Knight Frank’s country department. The presence of secondary schools
nearby is also important: “People are prepared to go further out if they’ve
got communication into their workplace and can get to some bigger centres
with good schools.”
What moving to a village is really all about is improved quality of life, says
Lucian Cook, head of research at Savills. “That also means that villages
with good local amenities, such as a good village shop, post office and pub,
are likely to be the most desirable.”
Yet, although would-be refugees from the big city like the idea of an active
community life, they don’t necessarily want to get involved, as a survey by
Savills revealed last year. It asked those who favour villages as a place to
live what they really thought was key – and the results were surprising.
“Few people said that local community was important, which shows that the
nature of villages is changing,” Cook explains. “People are buying in a
village because it’s a lovely place to live, but they don’t necessarily want
to get involved in the big community thing and be on the church or parish
council. Some previously suburban dwellers may find that a bit daunting.”
Village life with all the trimmings is not cheap. Savills estimates that a
home in a top20 village costs about 40% more than the average for that
region – and it can be much higher. Take Kintbury, where Beech House, a
four-bedroom house with a cinema and a gym, is for sale for £1.9m (Knight
Frank; 01488 682726, www.knightfrank.co.uk).
The average price for a detached house in West Berkshire is £391,500.
Oakwood, a pretty four-bedroom home in Cerne Abbas, Dorset, is on sale for
£650,000 (Jackson-Stops & Staff; 01305 262123, www.jackson-stops.
co.uk). Theaverage price for a detached house in the region is £353,810.
Shropshire might be more affordable: Savills (01952 239500, www.savills.com)
is marketing Pound Cottage, a three-bedroom stone home in Much Wenlock, for
£299,990, not much more than the regional average, £276,432.
Overall, the most sought-after villages have seen average price growth of 67%
in the past five years; nationally, prices were up 51% in the same period.
Presuming you are willing to pay the premiums, though, what are these
villages like to live in?
Stuart Pearson, 28, Vicky Leigh, 31, and their daughter, Lauren, 15 months,
moved to pretty Shamley Green, four miles from Guildford, Surrey, in June.
The average property price there is £550,696, making it the most expensive
place on the list.
“We wanted a bigger house because we had our daughter and we wanted more
land,” says Leigh, who works for her family firm, John Ross Jr, producing
Scottish smoked salmon. “We were right in the heart of Cobham, on a noisy
road, and we could get slightly more for our money here.” They paid just
under £500,000 for a nearly derelict three-bedroom 1960s house, then spent
another £25,000 making it habitable, but consider the outlay worth it.
“Sometimes, when I walk to the corner shop, I feel like I’m on holiday,” Leigh
says. “We have a couple of really nice pubs, a village green and quite a
good community here – they’re keen on doing social things. And it’s
picturesque. You can walk out of your front door and into lovely countryside
for miles.”
All this may sound delightful. But spare a thought for those whose families
may have lived in such places for generations. It takes increasingly large
sums to buy village homes, and, while those selling up in London may be able
to afford to realise their dream, it is a different story for those already
living there. The CRC’s survey says that the average rural household
income is £34,175, and the average price of a rural house is £240,222. So,
locals would have to borrow more than seven times their income to buy their
own home; the figure for urban areas is about six times income.
“Unless we act now, in a generation rural communities will become places where
only the rich are able to live – to the detriment of the health, vitality
and economy of the countryside,” says Kate Gordon, planning officer at the
Campaign to Protect Rural England.
Which means the perfect village of the future might look very different
indeed.
When, oh when, will the Scots stop wingeing about how forgotten they are. They have more money thrown at them than all the other countries that make up the United Kingdom. They also have more disposable income than the Home Counties workers, to enable them to buy their own homes.
Tina, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Beautiful villages are dotted all over the UK - having just left the UK for a two year to work in Germany it would appear that no matter how beautiful your village is it is still tricky to sell period homes in those villages.Set in the beautiful village of Sparsholt nestled beneath the Ridgeway and it’s famous White Horse at Uffington, is Star Cottage, a delightful period home that is over 350 years old and packed with original features and character. Wantage 5m, Didcot Parkway 13 m and M4 8m it is ideally located and being is marketed at the exceptional price of £329,000, with no onward chain.
Set back from a quiet no through road the cottage is situated at the centre of this delightful community with a sunny courtyard-style front garden.The large sitting room, with dual aspect and French doors on to the patio and the beautifully stocked cottage garden, retains its original beams and with a multi-fuel burner in an inglenook style fireplace which makes it the heart of the.......
Carolyn Macintosh, Frankfurt, Germany
"We do have pretty villages in Scotland too you know." says Susan, Glasgow.
Probably, Lucy Denyer has somoe ongoing business with estate agents covering just England and Wales....
riccardo, brussels,
This is rubbish. Culture dictates who lives in our villages. Todays culture is diferent it will never be like it was in that idylic netherworld of the past. People no longer really live that kind of linked comunity life anymore. If there were no holiday cottages there wouldnt be any tourist jobs. If comuters didnt go to the country most of it would be derelict and underfunded. Who would fill the houses? A hundred years ago it would have been twenty farm workers per farm and many small support busineses the butcher the baker etc. Nowadays you are lucky if you live next door to someone whose job is even remotely linked to yours in any way. Our culture is now diferent. This is the new way. Get with the program. In a hundred years time it will be diferent again!
Dave Bowes, kelso, borders
Misleading title The best British villages - when in fact you are covering the best villages in England and Wales. We do have pretty villages in Scotland too you know.
susan, glasgow,
.........and Ricardo lives in Brussels
julian harston, godalming, UK
Thankfully our lovely unspoilt Dorset village isn't listed although it fulfils all the criteria mentioned in the article.
I'm hoping it will remain undiscovered for a long time!!
I'm wary of the "Lonely Planet" effect -- once listed, that ever so perfect/ top secret / known only to natives beach (or village) will never be the same again.
Kate, Dorset,
I lived in a smug little chocolate box village in Hampshire and it was the most ghastly experience imaginable. Although it was basically a dormitory for London commuters, everyone was supposed play along with some sort of bucolic ideal....cricket, church flowers, fetes, gardens open for charity. Behind this Rachel Allingham facade, it was all out war. Neighbours would group together to intimidate and drive out anyone they disapproved of. A favoured weapon was opposition to planning applications on purely personal rather than planning grounds with the Parish Council playing a particularly vicious and bias role. The only communal aspect was gossip and in-fighting.
Lily, Brighton, UK
I agree with some of the others here, leaving out scotland, wales and northern Ireland is not British. Being half scottish myself I'll allow myself some support for them.
But hey don't shout about it. After all they don't want all us english moving up there do they?
Ooops not quite half, I forget my Grandfather was Irish.
God what a mix!!!
MKNB, Bucks, UK
What's the point of contemplating a move to Britain's most desirable village when it will almost certainly be a sprawling, suburb of London in 30-50 years? Look at Chislehurst, Epsom, and Hampton for example- previously picturesque commuter villages but have now manifested into London-overspill towns full of drug-barons, people-traffickers and 'self-made millionaires' (i.e other big-time,accomplished criminals eager to avoid the beady eye of the Met's finest).
The villages of Belgium, Northern France are now accessible from London thanks to ultra-modern (Eurostar) transport links. The very cheap housing compensates for the expensive commute and these gems really do put their S.E England contemporaries to shame. At least you will find community and culture there!
Darren P. , Greenhithe, Kent, U.K
I'd stick away from these villages unless you want townies trying to live the dream. It says it all when the people moving there don't even want to get involved in the local community.
The key to villages is having that community. The ability to knock on anyone's door to borrow some eggs or milk etc.
These Londonites don't want any of this it seems?
Jamie, Missing the North, too, Winchester
I wonder what percentage of immigration you will find in these rural villages? The so-called white flight will see small villages grow in the next 10-20 years. Nobody will admit to it of course, it will be disguised under "better quality of life".
htp, Llandudno, Wales
You say Turville makes the list, yet it's not on the map you provide.
Christopher Kelk
Chris Kelk, Toronto, Canada
I lived in Fingest in the early 90's for 5 years. Beautiful location, many fine pubs, all in walking distance, with dog. But the drawback was a total lack of amenities. If you needed anything it was a 20 minute car drive. And in winter, if it snowed, forget it, you were stuck until the roads opened. And by the time you got home after work, you were too tired to appreciate the beauty!!
Nic, Fort Myers,, USA
much better than "a night at the pub with my mates", an insulse curry for dinner, and shoppung at Tesco's!
Phil, London, enjoy your life-style....
riccardo, brussels,
lol @ phil in london. So very very true!
Farrukh, Woking, UK
Riccardo's comment from Brussels is naive to say the least....Why doesn't he take a look at the dirty, unsafe and ugly Brussels? His comment is unfounded.
Clive Aquilina Spagnol, Marsa, MALTA
Yes - How is this the 20 best British villages if Scotland is excluded. Is Scotland, admired throughout the world as a beautiful place, now demoted to wholly undesireable by this listing? The list is an abuse of the term Britain ! I am not a scot and I currently live in Yorkshire but I know unfairness when I see it.
Harry Wilis , North Yorkshire ,
The list is a sham.
Any list of best villages should have Dibley at the top.
It's the only village I'd want to live in.
mike, hp, il.
Quote: "birds, dogs, grass, churchs, "the community", the corner shop....there's only one major problem in this picture: full of tremendously boring people!!!"
says a man in Brussels!
Phil, London,
The article is titled "The best British villages", but neglects to include 50% of the eligible countries.
Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
birds, dogs, grass, churchs, "the community", the corner shop....there's only one major problem in this picture: full of tremendously boring people!!!
riccardo, brussels,
In reply to Neil of Gloucestershire, in Hertfordshire they are in the process of doing just that. The regional authority for the East of England has dictated that each local authority must allocate more spaces for gypsies. The "consultants" employed by a consortium of Hertfordshire councils to identify new sites appear to have chosen the most desireable villages to locate them - even in contradiction to the criteria they were set, certainly in North Herts - out of what must be sheer spite and malice.
Chris, Royston, Herts
Shhhsssshhhh, James! They'll all want to move there if you say things like that!
Some things, including the Peak District might be best kept a secret... :o)
Missing the North, Bristol,
Good! They've missed the best village of all - St. Osyth, Essex. It has an ancient virtually intact Priory, the most listed buildings in Essex, two butchers, two grocers, a classic tea-shop, hardware shop, a wonderful ancient vibrant Church, a village school... and it is beautiful, like stepping back into the 30's which has preserved all its medieval (and subsequent) heritage. St. Osyth is 4 miles from the sea, surrounded by beautiful countryside and nature reserves. The village is full of flowers. Yet all this only 62 miles from London and the National Express coach stops in the village. Houses are still affordable too! So please, don't all rush here and spoil it!
Estrella, St. Osyth,
Intresting. They have completely missed out the entire Peak District on that map.
The people writing it should take a look at Froggatt in the hope valley. 25 minutes drive from the Centre of sheffield.
Manchester Airport in an hour. One house has risen in vavlue by 25% in the past twelve months. There is a village pub in the chequers which makes best food guides in the area.
People can walk out of their door and go for stunning walks, yet be in englands major cities in half an hours drive.
Not a bad location to live.
James Ibbotson, Sheffield,
You realise that if the government see this they will take steps to ruin these villages. Friendly people, low crime, and good schools. They are plainly too white and 'hideously' middle class.
Neil, Glos, UK
Nether Stowey near to Taunton in Somerset is the best village we have found. After a two years search we bought a large house in the centre of this village. Microclimate, views of Quantocks, near the shore line, full of history. Coleridge etc. But the friendly people were why we chose this idyllic place: shops are small but full of life's necessities, we have the very best butcher/fishmonger and a friendly pub. No need to leave for anything! Jill Emery
Jill Emery, Nether Stowey, Somerset